Chiang Mai has loads of cafes; the local brew is excellent, the accompanying bakeries are good and nearly all come with free WiFi and pleasant seating areas. But when we came come across this interesting variation on a coffee shop theme the other day — a piano bar coffee shop — we thought it was … read the full post

The vast majority of visitors and expats appreciate the delights of Thai cuisine (which incidentally can help with life’s trials and tribulations) but every now and then most people are going to fancy a change from street and market food. Now while Thais will happily eat rice at least three times a day (indeed the … read the full post

As we all know some of the best Thai food can be found in markets and street stalls. In Chiang Mai, the night market at Prathu Chang Puak or Chang Puak Gate market, is one of the best food markets we know of in town. It’s located on the exterior side of the northern moat … read the full post

The Food Factory is a food hall located in the Huay Kaew branch of Central shopping mall — but possessing a slightly more imaginative name than you might expect for Central. Now the food offerings aren’t frankly the most imaginative, but it does have several advantages: cheap prices, bilingual menus, it’s clean and bright and on … read the full post

On our ongoing search for Chiang Mai’s best khao soi we checked out a new spot on fashionable Nimmanhemin’s Soi 7 with the promising name of Kao Soy Nimman. Spellings may vary but it’s a standard — signature really — north Thai and Chiang Mai dish; both soft and crispy wheat noodles in a curry … read the full post

Khao man gai, the Thai variant of the original Hainanese chicken rice, is hugely popular in Thailand and found just about anywhere you go in the kingdom. Known in China as wenchan chicken it was brought to Southeast Asia by Hainanese merchants and sailors, so presumably spread out from ports frequented by traders from the … read the full post

The Blue Diamond health-food cafe in Chiang Mai‘s old town is hugely popular with expats, locals and tourists and has a reputation for being perhaps the best Western breakfast spot in town. It is actually open all day — 07:00  to 21:00 — so it’s a lunch, afternoon tea or dinner option as well, with … read the full post

So with Huay Tung Tao being our recommended Sunday afternoon spot, and Grandma’s khao soi‘ our default lunchtime eatery, this French restaurant logs in as a firm family fave for birthday evenings and special occasions. Not that La Terrace is at all expensive (but you know … a Travelfish.org bloggers’ wages …), which is why … read the full post

A few people had recommended the Doi Kham shop to me and it sounded interesting, but could I find it? Could I (deleted)! In my defense when I did eventually stumble upon it, it looked like this: That is, it looked just like a small, unassuming government office not unlike several dozen other small, unassuming … read the full post

Anybody residing in or spending any length of time in Chiang Mai will know of the famous Kasem store, a genuine Chiang Mai city institution. It’s an old-fashioned style, family-run grocery store rather than supermarket as per Bangkok’s glitzy offers or Chiang Mai’s own Rimping supermarket chain, but still specialises in mostly imported products catering … read the full post